pfrederi 18,708 #1 Posted October 22, 2015 I am losing the battle trying to remove the spindle pulleys from a 78-360 deck. A couple of taps and the center double pulley came off. (these spindles do not have woodruff keys just a nut and lock washer ). The outer ones are beating me. I have soaked the outer ones with Kroil and PB Blaster for several days. Tried a few times heating with Propane torch. Pounded on the end of the shaft with a brass hammer (left the nut on to protect the end of the threads). Then used a vice grips to hold the pulley hub and wailed away with an impact wrench on the 1-1/8 hex head on the bottom of the shaft. Today I even used the acetylene torch on one pulley Then using a pipe wrench and impact wrench and some serious hammering...nothing ...Other than setting the grease on fire.The pulleys are over $30 each so I would like to not have to cut them off...any ideas???? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
daveoman1966 3,841 #2 Posted October 22, 2015 Take blades off. Back off top nuts a few turns and remove the grease zerksFind 3 coffee cans equal height. Set deck spindles into coffee cans on concrete floor.Use small BRASS drift pin on top of shaft and AGGRESSIVELY WHACK it with a BFH. Don't be bashsul....its the sudden impact that breaks the shaft free...driving it into the coffee can. If you keep pounding the top of the shaft, you'll flare it out and may never get it out. That's why it is better to WHACK in HARD...ps... I have replacement pulleys for the deck. my email link is here:daveoman@windstream.net Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
doc724 925 #3 Posted October 22, 2015 The only thing I would add to Dave's comment is to get the pulley hot before you whack it. Just that small expansion may be enough to allow the whack to do it's job.BTW, usually it the the center pulley that is stubborn and I have ruined more than one of those! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pfrederi 18,708 #4 Posted October 22, 2015 I guess I had hammered away harder than I thought. Even with the nut still on top of the spindle I had deformed the threads a bit using a brass hammer. Ran a die over it and am now using a full thickness Gr8 nut. (The original is a half thickness aka jam nut) Applied more Kroil/PB Blaster and gave up for the day. Trying to figure out how to use my air impact hammer. Tried it on a bolt threaded into the nut on top of shaft but it skittered off. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
can whlvr 994 #5 Posted October 25, 2015 ive had success using a large pipe wrench on the shaft of the pulley,a long pipe on the wrech and a pipe on the blade so it wont move Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pfrederi 18,708 #6 Posted October 25, 2015 (edited) I guess I can finally claim victory but not without a casualty. This was right up there with pulling a D series hub. No fun at all.A few more days of soaking and I re-attacked to day. Hammering on the shaft end even with the nut on was damaging threads so i dug out some full thickness GR8 nuts. Still no movement. Came up with a device that let me use the air chisel. That heat and a cheater bar on the pipe wrench and I got the pulleys off. The bottom of one housing broke were the snap ring is located. The second one would barely turn chattering all the time and I could only move it with the 3 foot cheater pipe on the pipe wrench . Used the air chisel and she finally loosened up.Welded a nut on end of 5/8 NF bolt (threaded about half way). Drilled the center of the bolt head so the air chisel wouldn't skitter off. Put a nut on the shaft and ran it all the way on. Threaded on my device then brought the first nut back up until it jammed on the device. This maximized the threads to take the pounding of the air chisel. Didn't think to take picture till i was done. Edited October 25, 2015 by pfrederi Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
